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Girl, 15, last seen working at store in 1990

Rosemary Diaz, 15, played the flute and was a favorite of her teachers. She vanished in November 1990.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Rosemary Diaz was last seen working in a Texas convenience store in November 1990

She was 15, played the flute and was a favorite of her teachers

A man known as "One-Eyed Joe" was questioned and cleared in her disappearance

Know something? Call 979-543-TIPS or 1-800-THE-LOST

(CNN) -- It is a rite of passage for every teenager: A first job brings new responsibility, greater maturity and even a little spending money.

Rosemary Diaz, 15, was excited about entering the work force as a clerk at Dane's Country Store just down the road from home in Danevang, a one-traffic-light town south of Houston that is known as the Danish capital of Texas.

The small convenience store sold everything from hamburgers to gasoline, and Rosemary was trusted to do the work on her own.

But on the night of November 24, 1990, just weeks into the job, Rosemary was waiting for an older sister, Elia, and newborn niece to visit her at the store, police say.

Rosemary called home at 7:30 p.m. to make sure they were still coming.

Soon afterward, two customers entered the shop, and no clerk was to be found, called police.

Officers Daniel Marek and Mark Tijerina of the Wharton County Sheriff's Office hurried to the store, located where Highway 71 crosses Country Road 424.

They found Rosemary's car parked outside. Her purse with cash and her paycheck were left behind in the store, police say.

No money was missing from the register, and there were no obvious signs of a struggle.

Only the soda machine had been moved and the front leg bent, said Marek, now a lieutenant with the office.

"We had just spoken to her,'' said Elia Diaz. "We get there, and the sheriff's department car is out there.

Right away, my heart sank to the ground and it was like, 'Oh my goodness, I wonder what happened to Rosemary?' "

Elia and her mother urged authorities to search for Rosemary in the surrounding fields and to search the trunk of the girl's car.